London (Great Britain), October 5 (nor): Mosque in Peacehaven, a quiet coastal city near Brighton, Great Britain, was intentionally ignited on Saturday evening in what the police consider to be hate criminal. When there was an attack, there were two people inside the building, but they managed to escape the unharmed, CNN informed.
Suspicious arson comes during a tense and politically charged summer in the UK, marked by an increase in Islamophobic and anti -Semitic incidents. It follows just a few days after a deadly attack outside the synagogue in Manchester, where two Jewish believers were killed in connection with the car and stabbed the attack on Yom Kippur, the most sacred day of Judaism.
On the scene, emergency services were called shortly before 22:00 after the flames broke out at the entrance to the small mosque, which serves the local group of 10 to 15 believers in the last four years.
According to a volunteer mosque manager, two masked individuals were seen on security shots that arrived at the mosque wearing Balaclava. They tried to force the open door before pouring the gasoline over the stairs and lit it.
Inside the mosque, the chairman of the mosque and another volunteer, both at their 60s, who stayed behind in the evening prayers to share a cup of tea according to CNN.
“They heard a loud bang outside and fled from the building as the flames turned over the main entrance,” the manager said. “They could easily die. These people came with full intention to cause maximum damage.”
“The chairman is trembling all the time,” the manager added. “The neighbor came out on the street crying.
“Then we saw the gasoline pouring all over the floor and the door of the mosque and the chair of the chairman outside,” the manager confirmed.
The police said the fire damaged the front of the mosque and the vehicle parked outside.
The chairman of the mosque works as a taxi driver and, according to the manager, relies on the car as a living. “Unfortunately, only his vehicle’s shell remains,” he added.
During the fire, no one was physically damaged, but the police said that its impact would “feel the Muslim community” of a small coastal city.
The manager also stressed that this is not the first time the building was focused. “Last August, the mosque was targeted twice overnight with eggs thrown on the building and people were shouting the curse of words and racial elevations while browsing,” the manager said.
“But we never expected an attack on this level,” he added. “The community is on your feet right now. They feel dangerous, they are paranoid.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned this attack and warned that hatred “is rising again, and Britain must defeat her again”. (Or)
(Tagstotranslate) Mosque Fire
